Kid's Art Gallery Wall

Kid's art work.  So much to display.  So little space.

Last year I didn't have a game plan to handle the massive amount of paper that came home from school with my daughter.  Therefore, paper ended up on my counter tops, taped to my cabinets, taped to the fridge, underneath the fridge, in the pantry, you name the space and there was paper.  #paperexplosion

I decided to tackle this project to help diffuse the #paperexplosion situation.

I began by locating a blank wall in my house.

I decided on this wall because it is right next to my kid's bedrooms.  It is a long wall and as you can see, well it's pretty bleak and blank.  You can see my first attempt at just taping the artwork to the wall in the corner.  Plus my sweet daughter making more artwork at the dining room table:)

I located my inspiration image on Pinterest.  Click here to view the image.  The easy route would have been to order a vinyl decal (for $25 or so), but our wall texture doesn't allow me to take the easy route.  Therefore, I got out my level, ruler, and a pencil and went to town. 

I did lots of preliminary measuring and marking on the wall (future blog post about how to measure out a paint a stencil on the wall) and then drew out the letters and painted it.  Since I had already done wall painting (see DIY Gallery Picture Wall post), this one went much quicker.

I ordered 3 sets of the Dignitet Curtain Hardware from IKEA ($12.99 each).  I also ordered Riktig Hooks to use to hang the artwork (I did 2 packs of these at $2.99 each). 

I decided on 3 rows of Curtain Wire with 18 inches between each row.  I wanted to allow for larger artwork but not have the bottom wire hang down too low (ergo my son's eye level... enter large medical bill).  

My hubs helped to hang the Curtain Hardware in the wall and then I strung the wire.  It's not difficult it just takes a bit of time to get it just right.

I am so thrilled with how well it turned out!  My kids have already claimed who has what row.  They are so proud to have their artwork out for all to see.  I am so happy to have a solution to #paperexplosion.  

Let me know if you have questions about how to make this happen at your home.  Have a great Monday!